Chevrolet Fuel Injection Distributors

Over the nine model years that Chevrolet offered Rochester fuel injection, they assembled 12.5 different V-8 distributor designs to drive the fuel meter gear pumps. The extra “half design” was a slightly modified service distributor that bore the same part number as the 1111070 assembly line distributor. All of these distributor designs will work with any Rochester ’57 – ’65 small block Chevrolet FI system. However, some of the designs had features that make them less than perfect for today’s driving.

This information was compiled with the help of Don Baker. I consider Don the leading expert on Rochester FI distributors. His machining skills are unmatched. When I encounter a distributor that needs more repair than I can provide, I send it to Don. You can contact him in Sandwich, Illinois, at (815) 498-9522.

1110889 — This dual point distributor was the first design used with the 283 horsepower fuel injected Corvette engines in 1957. It had no vacuum advance mechanism or tach drive coupling. It’s weak point is the unsealed bearing that was used at the top of the mainshaft. Chevrolet received owner complaints about oil-fouled points shortly after it hit the streets. Their solution was to replace the 889 with a new distributor, the 1110905. It’s very difficult to find an 889 FI distributor in use today. I doubt any 889’s were installed on the assembly line after December, 1956. Also, many 889’s installed in 1956 were quickly replaced with 905 distributors during 1957 while under warranty.
1110905 — The 905 distributor was identical to the 889 with two exceptions. It had a larger drain hole to take the oil away from the upper gear chamber, and it had a sealed upper mainshaft bearing. It still had dual points that were not externally adjustable, no vacuum advance, no tach drive, and a two piece main body that allowed advance adjustments without rotating the distributor base at the manifold. The 905 distributor design was used in almost all of the 1957 model year 283 hp engines.
1110906 — The 906 was the first FI distributor designed for use with an automatic transmission. It was installed during the 1957 model year only. It had single points that were not externally adjustable, and it had no provision for tach drive. It also had a vacuum advance mechanism with a hexagonal canister (stamped 125) and a threaded vacuum hose connection. The 906 upper housing looked very similar to that of the 905. However, the 906 upper housing was about 1/4″ taller to accommodate a slot for the vacuum advance canister. This taller housing required a taller distributor mainshaft. The 906 point cam was also different from the 905 version. It used a slightly different rotor orientation for the single set of points. Beware of those who offer a 906 that has been “converted to 905 specs”. This conversion can certainly be done, but proper a conversion requires much more than filling the advance canister slot with Bondo and installing a mounting plate for dual points.
1110908 — The 908 design was the first FI distributor to have a mechanical tach drive coupling. The cable end design (required to mate with the distributor tach drive cross-shaft) was round with a “tang” or ridge projecting from the side. Except for the tach drive, the 908 distributor was very similar to the 905 design. It had dual points that weren’t externally adjustable, and no vacuum advance. Many believe that the 908 was first installed on the 1957 “air box” 283hp Corvettes to drive their steering column mounted tachs. I believe that most 908 distributors were installed on early 1958 Corvettes with the 290 hp injected engine.
1110914 — This distributor was used in 1958 through 1961 solid lifter FI engines. It had externally adjustable dual points, a tach drive coupling, and no provisions for vacuum advance. The mainshaft top cam (or “football”) was stamped with the number 42. The points cam was stamped 122. The mechanical advance weights were each stamped 37, and most of these weights had an “extra” small hole in their heavy ends. The upper housing of the 914 distributor used a much smaller diameter clamp (than previous FI distributors) to hold it tight against the lower housing. This smaller clamp design was used for all later FI distributors. Beginning with the 914 model, all FI distributor lower housings had a removable square data plate which allowed quick inspection of the cross-shaft drive gear while the distributor was mounted in the engine.
1110915 — This distributor was used in all the 1958 through 1961 FI engines with hydraulic cams. It had externally adjustable single points, vacuum advance canister #134, and no provision for a tach drive. In place of the tach drive coupling was a hex-head plug. This distributor was the only FI design with a manual oiling tube projecting from the side of the main housing. This tube provided oil through cotton wicking to lube the upper housing vertical hub surface. The mainshaft top cam was stamped 73. The points cam was stamped 726 or 728. The distributor weights were unmarked and were the same as those used in passenger cars.
1110990 — This dual point distributor was used only in very early 1962 model FI engines. It had no vacuum advance, and the points were externally adjustable. The mainshaft cam was stamped 54. The points cam was stamped 722. The advance weights were stamped 37, and most had the heavy end holes mentioned previously.
1111011 — This distributor was used in all of the later 1962 FI engines. It was identical to the 990 distributor design (dual points, mainshaft cam #54, advance weights #37) except it sometimes used a points cam stamped 724.
1111022 — This distributor was used in all 1963 FI engines. It was identical to the 011 (mainshaft cam #54, advance weights #37, points cam #724) except for these three features: the 022 used single points, it had a felt wick in a plastic stand for oiling the point cam, and it had a vacuum advance mechanism. The advance canister was stamped 201 15. The canister had the modern conical shape with a smooth nipple for the hose connection. This canister required a relatively high amount of vacuum for full advance. The hose from the canister was attached to a “ported” connection on the air meter that did not provide vacuum at idle.
1111063 — This distributor was used with the 7017375R series FI systems that were installed in early 1964 model injected Corvettes. It was identical to the 022 model (single points, vacuum advance, felt wick for point cam, mainshaft cam #54, advance weights #37, point cam #724) except for the advance canister used. The 063 advance canister was a low-vacuum design stamped 236 16. The hose from it was attached to a full-time vacuum connection on the plenum.
1111064 — This distributor was the only model installed with the ’64 – ’65 FI transister ignition system. It used the following parts: advance canister 236 16, mainshaft cam #03, un-numbered advance weights with a hole in the heavy end, and magnet rotating cam #736 (or possibly #540 or #542). The cap used with this distributor still had the little sliding door for external access to adjust points.
1111070 — This distributor was used with most, and possibly all, ’64 and ’65 7017380 series injection units. The assembly line version had a 236 16 vacuum canister, a felt wick for the point cam, mainshaft cam #03, point cam #732, and un-numbered advance weights with a hole on the heavy end. Sometime after fuel injection was dropped as a production option, the service versions of this distributor were changed slightly. The felt wick for oiling the point cam was changed to a foam donut on a plastic stand. Also, the point cam was changed to a number 536 and the mainshaft cam became an 03W or had no stamped number at all. Most of the distributor weights used in the service distributors lacked the extra holes in the heavy end.